Ghostbusters: Books and Spirits
by COMIC-BOOKER
Summary: This takes place after the second movie, about two years or so afterwards. The Ghostbusters are still busy catching ghosts but when Peck is brought on by the mayor to overlook the whole Ghostbusters operation (A little thing I took from the game), and Ray comes in possession of a potentially very powerful book. Things go very bad. Hope you'll all enjoy it.
1. Chapter 1

"C'mon Venkman, keep up," Winston said to the Ghostbuster behind him as Dr. Peter Venkman was dragging his feet.

"Winston remind me again why I'm here instead of Ray?" Venkman sighed as he shined his flashlight at a painting they passed while walking through a dark hallway. The weight of the proton pack tugged at his back and his mood was far from good.

"Egon needed help doin' research on something I can't even pronounce. You drew the short straw on this one, Pete!" Winston replied as he held up the pke meter along with a flashlight of his own. They're following the trail of a ghost who had been spotted in an abandoned house.

This house had been abandoned for weeks now and the story goes that the last people who lived here rushed out after only living here for two months. They came across something they couldn't handle, and the city needs this house cleared so they called the Ghostbusters. The city permitted them to work as independent contracters, and they are insured by the city for any damages done. People walking by the house have noticed strange lights and weird noises coming from inside but Winston's pke meter showed no signs of anything paranormal.

"I ain't getting anything on this thing. The place looks creepy enough alright but there's no ghost here, as far as I can tell." Winston tapped the meter a few times with his flashlight as they entered one of the four bedrooms in the house. Peter leaned against the doorpost as Winston walked further into the bedroom.

"At times like these I hate it when the city hires us to do a job in a place that's vacated. They always cut off the power and make normal lookin' houses extra creepy!" Peter said as he shrugged his shoulders and moved away from the door and stepped back into the hallway. He shined his flashlight at the end of the hall and suddenly saw a flash of mist shooting into one of the other bedrooms.

With one hand he reached behind his back and pulled out his particle thrower (proton wand) and cleared his throat a few times to catch Winston's attention. "You smoke too much man," Winston said as he turned around to look at Peter and saw him pointing his thrower toward the hallway.

"Get over here, things finally start to get interesting," Peter said as he led the way with Winston walking behind him with his proton wand drawn as well and his flashlight tightly gripped in the other hand.

They quietly walked toward the end of the hall until they reached the last bedroom and suddenly the pke meter that hung from Winston's belt started picking up on something paranormal. A presence was inside the bedroom but it was strange that the meter couldn't pick up on it before. A loud and firm electronical sound filled the house as Peter switched his pack on and Winston did the same. With his flashlight in his mouth, Peter reached out his free hand to open the bedroom door but suddenly the door swung open and an invisible force caused both Peter and Winston to be swept off of their feet. The two Ghostbusters were down and on their backs as Peter was thrown near the wall and Winston layed in the middle of the hallway.

"I hate it when they do that!" Winston grunted as he slowly stood up and Peter followed, the heavy weight of their proton packs made it that much harder for them to stand up.

Peter's flashlight was crushed during the fall and this meant he could now take his thrower with both hands as he furiously aimed it around. There was nothing to see but they could both feel a presence in their midst and Peter entered the room through the door that was blown open. He narrowed his eyes and looked around the room with Winston standing in the open doorway with his thrower and flashlight at the ready. This bedroom only had a bed and a desk with a chair, nothing much but things got alive fast as the chair moved away from the desk and slid across the room. A strange glowing apparition that consisted out of translucent mist with tiny colorful orbs surrounding it appeared where the chair stood just moments ago.

Peter's eyes got bigger and immediately he released a wild proton stream that cut across the desk and up the wall and left a trail of fire behind. The desk had been cut in half but the apparition disappeared though only for a moment as it appeared behind Winston now. "Winston, move!" Peter shouted as he aimed his thrower at Winston who slowly turned around to stare the apparition in the face.

Peter waited to get a clear shot but it seemed like Winston wasn't able to move and he was locked into eye contact with the ghost that floated in front of him. From within the mist-like aura a face came through that resembled a beautiful woman with eyes as red as blood. Only her face could be seen and nothing else, the mist shrouded the rest of her form. She had Winston in some kind of trance and Peter wasn't sure how to break it. He hung his thrower from a clip on his belt and grabbed the trap that was strapped to his left hip and slowly stepped toward Winston and the ghost. Winston's legs were apart far enough for a trap to fit through it and so Peter kneeled down and carefully aimed as he rolled out the trap. The ghost was alerted by the trap that appeared out from between Winston's legs and suddenly the female face changed and became demonic as it screamed wildly. Peter immediately stepped on the pedal and the ghost was sucked into the trap's energy field and captured as a red light started to blink and the trap sizzled with smoke.

"You're as bad as Ray, you guys get put into a trance by some spook like once a month," Peter chuckled as he walked toward Winston who was rubbing his eyes and shaking his head. Peter picked up the ghost filled trap and held it away from his face as it still smoked.

"Pete, shut up. Man that was messed up, I could feel it inside my mind. Felt like it was reading my thoughts or something." Winston shaked his head and tried to get it together as he walked out of the bedroom with Peter behind him and he hung his thrower from a clip on his belt as well. They left the house and unloaded their gear into the back of the car and drove away with the house now cleared as promised.

After arriving back at the firehouse and dumping the loaded trap into the containment unit, Peter and Winston headed up the stairs to find Egon and Ray working on some kind of gadget. Egon was wearing a long lab coat and Ray was wearing a dirty overall that he normally used for fixing up the car or anything else that's potentially messy. "Ray you'll be pleased to know that you're not the only one to be put into a trance this month. Winston's right behind you on that list," Peter scoffed as he scratched the top of his head and zipped his grey jumpsuit halfway open.

"Don't worry Winston, Pete's due for a trance soon as well!" Ray teased as he looked up at Venkman for a moment. Peter raised an eyebrow and shook his head while he looked for a bag of peanuts he left on the table earlier.

"Any of you guys seen my peanuts? I left them here on the table before me and Winston went out on that bust. Ray if you've eaten them I'll shave your head in your sleep tonight!" Peter faked a threatening tone and acompanied it by a wink as he sat down on a long couch next to Egon who was busy with his gadget as he was putting wires and bolts in place.

"What you doin' there Spengs?" Peter said as he already regretted asking because he knew he'd get an hour-long speech from Egon.

"I'm working on an ecto molecular disruptor or EMD as Ray keeps calling it. It'll allow for us to temporarily break down the molecules of all ectoplasmic beings, hopefully it will make catching stronger ghosts a bit easier. They have to reform their molecules in order to fully manifest again and thus giving us time to trap them while they do so. I'll be starting the tests soon, with the help of our green test subject," Egon explained as he continued tinkering with his device.

"What? Sorry I fell asleep after you said EMD." Peter yawned and stretched his arms as he stood up and was about to leave.

"Oh and Venkman? I fed your peanuts to my test subject." Egon's calm but quick reply caused both Winston and Ray to chuckle while Venkman grunted and left.

"When you start testing that thing on the green guy give me a shout. He's due some payback for my peanuts!" Venkman shouted as he walked down the stairs and headed to his office.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ghostbusters, can I help you?" Janine said as she answered the phone and chewed gum while also flipping through a magazine on her desk. "No I'm afraid you'd need a priest for that. We catch ghosts and don't bless houses. Hey pal either get a priest or move out, good night!"

"Another happy customer?" Peter teased and smiled as he strolled toward his office while Janine slammed the phone down, apparently the caller wouldn't accept no for an answer. Janine replied but only inside her mind as she thought words that were too rude for even her to say, she continued to chew gum and page through her magazine. On the floor above the other three Ghostbusters discussed the job that Peter and Winston went on and Winston explained the odd readings he got.

"Through the whole house we got nothing, no readings whatsoever. Not until Pete saw the thing creepin' into one of the bedrooms, that's when the meter went crazy," he explained as he looked at both Egon and Ray but Egon in particular.

"It's not uncommon for a manifestation to be localized to a certain area of the house. They can even be bound to a specific room or even an object. Even so the psychokinetic energy should have been picked up regardless of your location in the house. The pke meter might have been malfunctioning, I'll look into it," Egon replied as he cleaned his glasses.

The next day all four Ghostbusters are woken up by a loud alarm as Janine rang the bell and the first to completely wake up was Egon as he stood up effortlessly and reached for his glasses. Ray and Winston soon followed though Winston rubbed his eyes a few times to get rid of that burning sensation he felt. Peter was still in bed and pressed his face into his pillow and grunted repeatedly. "Why can't they ever start haunting people in the afternoon? These early spooks are the worst," he said as he rubbed his face into the pillow.

"C'mon Pete, rise and shine!" Ray said with a voice that was a little too enthusiastic for Peter's taste. "Ray, remind me to slap you when my body has woken up," Peter replied as he desperately held on to his pillow.

Eventually they all suited up in their grey jumpsuits and Winston started the Ecto-1a as they headed toward Times Square where a bird-like ghost had been attacking cars and people. Peter still had trouble waking up fully as he kept rubbing his eyes and meanwhile Egon examined the pke meter that Winston used yesterday. "There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the meter you used yesterday, Winston. I've recalibrated the sensors, should be fine now," Egon said as he continued working on the meter.

"After this job is done I'm gonna get a breakfast burrito, maybe even two!" Peter stretched his arms and cracked his neck a bit as he felt a rumble in his empty stomach.

"Look who's finally joined the land of the living," Winston said as he pulled up at Times Square and the place had been barricaded by police cars and ambulances as citizens were being led away from the scene. The flashing lights and sirens that stood on top of the car employed by the Ghostbusters always seemed to turn heads whenever it drove by, and it turned a few relieved heads when bystanders saw the Ecto-1a arrive at the scene.

In the sky a pink-ish bird with two heads flew around and screeched so loud that several windows had started to crack. A crack appeared on the front windscreen of the Ecto-1a and it heavily frustrated Winston. "I'm gonna make that bird pay for this!" he said as he trailed the crack with his index finger.

The Ghostbusters got out of the car and they helped each other in putting on the proton packs and they each strapped a trap to their belts. Peter took point as he was first to walk toward a group of police officers who all aimed their guns up at the ghostly manifestation that roared in the sky. Egon had already started taking readings using his own pke meter while Winston and Ray activated their packs as they drew their throwers.

"You guys should probably step back, we'll handle this. KFC ain't got nothin' on proton roasted bird," Venkman said as he drew his own thrower and the cops all stepped back. The four Ghostbusters made their way to the middle of Times Square and they stood in a circle around the bird.

"Polly's looking for a cracker, how about we give him one and call it a day?" Venkman said as he looked up at the pink colored bird with two heads and smiled as he quickly glanced at the other three Ghostbusters afterwards. Both heads screeched and oddly enough it had no eyes but it did have razor sharp teeth that looked like they could shred through anything. They all aimed their particle throwers at the entity. "Nail it!" Peter shouted.

Four wild proton streams flew up into the air and the ghost managed to dodge all four of them though it started to become increasingly more agitated and suddenly it attacked back as it screeched so loudly that everyone in the immediate area had to cover their ears. The Ghostbusters all dropped their throwers as they grabbed their ears out of pain and they groaned repeatedly. The ghostly bird rushed down toward them as it intended to bite the first body it could grab, Winston noticed this before anyone else as the other three were still in pain and he ducked down and grabbed his thrower. A strong proton stream struck the bird and it was immediately caught in a swirl of streams as the other two Ghostbusters joined in. Egon grabbed the trap from his belt and rolled it underneath the bird while the others kept it contained as the streams acted like ropes that tied around the ghost.

"Opening the trap now!" he warned everyone as he stepped on the pedal and the bird screeched one last time before getting sucked into the energy vortex created by the trap. The trap doors closed and a red light blinked that indicated that there was a ghost inside as smoke creeped out. They all deactivated their packs and Winston bended through his knees as he looked at the trap that sparked with electrictity and nodded his head. "Payback's a bitch you ugly chicken."

"Okay so my eardrums are busted and I think Ray wet himself. I'd say it's a start of a great day!" Peter said as he clipped his thrower to his belt and slapped himself on the stomach as he felt it growling.

"What a voice though, that thing would give Janine a run for her money. She can scream but not like that thing," Ray said as they walked back to the car and the cops thanked them. They unloaded their gear into the back and the smoking trap was stored safely until it could be emptied at the firehouse.

"Breakfast burrito first. Containment unit later." Peter leaned back with his arms behind his head while Winston started the car.

After stopping to get something to eat they drove back to the firehouse and Egon looked at the readings he got from the ghost they caught. "Raymond, I think we should start testing the EMD when we get back to headquarters," he said as he studies the readings.

Before Ray had even a chance to reply he was interrupted by Peter who with a full mouth pointed his finger at Egon. "You're gonna test the molecular thing today? I wanna get a shot at disrupting that fat green blob's molecules first!"

They arrived back at the firehouse and Egon headed down to the basement with the loaded trap and emptied it into the containment unit with Ray beside him. The trap was cleared and while Egon unzipped his jumpsuit halfway and headed back up the stairs, Ray lit up a cigarette and exhaled the first drag. "If we could only have studied that ghost's vocal chords. Imagine the possibilities if we could replicate it or maybe harness it," he said.

"You'd really want Venkman to have access to a device that sends out destructive high frequency soundwaves?" Egon asked as he found the concept of studying the ghost they caught very interesting.

"Good point," Ray replied as he took another drag from his cigarette and closed the door to the basement behind him.

A few hours later Peter joined Egon and Ray on the rooftop where they had set up a testing area for the EMD and they had even moved the paranormal research tank up to the roof. The tank contained the green sack of ectoplasm otherwise known as "Spud", and he was the only reason why Venkman showed up at all. The green blob-like ghost bounced around in the research tank and growled furiously while Egon set up the EMD. Ray had a trap that hung from his belt just in case he needed it and a proton pack strapped to his back. Both he and Peter wore their jumpsuits, Egon wore his usual attire with a lab coat over it.

Peter walked up to the research tank and tapped his fingers against the glass as he taunted the ghost behind it. "How you feelin' there Greenie? I can't wait to screw up your molecules."

The green blob raged against the glass as it tried to attack a smiling Peter Venkman, both Ray and Egon shook their heads as they knew that he was only there to poke fun at their test subject. "Venkman, step away from the test subject we're going to launch the first attempt," Egon said as he switched a few knobs and several lights started blinking as he aimed the device at the research tank.

Peter stepped away and took a stand next to Ray while Egon fired the device and a bright flash of light struck the glass and the ghost behind it. The green sack of slime froze entirely and seemed shocked or stunned by what had happened and the three Ghostbusters stared in anticipation because they expected something to blow up or possibly fall apart.

"Yeah, great invention Egon. Spud over there looks very disrupted in his molecules and I'm -" Peter's attention was drawn to the research tank where the ghost had suddenly fallen apart and turned into a puddle of slime. Egon wasn't impressed as he thought the delayed reaction had to be fixed, though Ray clapped his hands while Peter arched an eyebrow and nodded. "I stand corrected."

"This needs more work, I need to fine tune the frequency. The end result is what I expected, the delayed reaction is not," Egon said as he studied the EMD while Peter inspected the research tank and kept tapping the glass.

"He never looked better!" Peter chuckled and he smiled as he turned away from the tank and walked by Ray on his way out."Next time we'll experiment on Janine, see if she turns into a puddle of goo," he said with a deviant tone of voice and strolled further.

Peter headed inside while Egon and Ray continued their research as they now observed how long it took for a ghost to completely reform itself again.


	3. Chapter 3

A few days had passed and the experiments with the EMD continued and the green ghost had been turned into a puddle of slime more times than anyone could count. Though the majority of those experiments were done by Peter when Egon wasn't looking in order to annoy the ghost that once attacked him at Hotel Sedgewick. She read the newspaper with her glasses that dangled on the edge of her nose, Janine read the headline that stated: Archeologist Edward Harrington Dies At 74, though it sparked no interest as she flipped the page. She looked up at Egon as he walked by with a stack of books and he headed toward the stairs and she stared with longing in her eyes as she tapped her nails on her desk. "Dr. Spengler, if only all men were as well read as you." Egon was too focused on the work at hand and didn't reply as he headed up the stairs, not because he was rude but because he simply never heard what she said.

"And if only all men were as well at listening as he is. Imagine the possibilites," Peter teased as he snook up behind Janine's desk, he had stepped out of his office.

She frowned and rolled the newspaper up and turned around as she raised the rolled up paper into the air. "Did you say something?"

She squeezed the paper firmly and Peter took a step backwards as he raised his hands up. "Wasn't me, I swear, must have been a ghost. Who you gonna call?" She threw the paper at his head but missed and Peter quickly retreated back to his office.

Ray worked in his book store with Louis Tully who acted as store manager whenever Ray was on duty as a Ghostbuster. Louis had even given up his job as an accountant to work at the book store full time, this was due to his rising interest in the supernatural. He was still uncomfortable around women but had found his place as manager of the store and does the occasional research work whenever the team needs it. He became quite well read on multiple aspects of the paranormal but what fascinated Louis the most was demonic possession. A new collection of books had arrived and one of them was something that Ray had been waiting on for quite a while. The Babylonian Demonology Texts, a book that focused on ancient Babylonian rituals involving the demonic and it even had a few chapters on Babylonian gods. He unwrapped and crumbled up the thin paper that kept the book relatively safe and stroked his hand across the cover.

"Louis, whatever happens we'll never sell this book. This is going into the personal collection," Ray said as he stared at the Babylonian symbol on the front cover and brushed his hand across it once more while Louis nodded in agreement.

Though the former accountant remembered something as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a note and gave it a quick read to remember what it said. "A representative of the Harrington family called and asked if you had any interest in taking a look at some of the rare books that Edward Harrington had in his collection," he said as he pushed his glasses up a bit. "Apparently Mr. Harrington died a few days ago and they are donating his collection to a museum. If you want to take them up on their offer, just go the Harrington mansion in Brooklyn." Louis cleared his throat and he quickly checked the note to see if he forgot anything.

"I read something about that in the paper this morning, he was an archeologist and supposedly he found some ancient artifacts from the Mayan culture. Those rare books of his might be worth checking out, thanks for the message Louis," Ray replied as he grabbed his phone and called Egon.

"Spengler? I got an interesting invitation from the family of the late Edward Harrington. The archeologist that's right. They asked if I had any interest in taking a look at the rare book collection he had. Feel like joining me? Okay great! I'll come to the office and we'll take the car. See you in a bit," he hung up and quickly grabbed his coat and headed to the exit. "I'll see you later, Louis!" he said as he left the shop.

Ray always traveled on a bicycle as much he could and he cycled toward the firehouse, meanwhile Peter had been out on a business meeting that he had with the Mayor. He had no intention on going though but they all drew straws and he drew the short one. They received a call by the Mayor's assistant saying that one of the four Ghostbusters had to come down to the Mayor's office and discuss a renewed contract with the city. No one wanted to go so they decided to vote by drawing straws and as luck would have it, Pete Venkman was the guy to go talk to the Mayor. He wore a suit and tie as he was welcomed into the Mayor's office, and Peter took a seat on the opposite side of the Mayor's desk after he shook his hand. "Dr. Venkman, thank you for coming. Though somehow I expected Dr. Spengler to appear," the Mayor said as he folded his hands together.

"Egon's a bit busy with blowing up stuff in the name of science. Geeks get all the fun, right? Mr. Mayor, I'll get straight to the point. We don't want early morning jobs anymore, they tire us out and interrupt with my beauty sleep." Peter crossed his arms and leaned on the desk while he tried to sound as serious as possible.

The Mayor raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Not gonna happen. But you and your colleagues are causing too much destruction, it is becoming a serious problem. You even managed to blow up the top floor of a law firm just last month. Insurance payouts are mounting and I need someone to keep an eye on the Ghostbusters."

The door behind Peter opened and he heard footsteps as someone entered the room and a very familiar voice echoed in Peter's ears. "Dr. Venkman, wish I could say it was a pleasure to see you again." Peter's eyes got bigger and he slowly turned his head to the side as he saw Walter Peck who stood to his left.

At first he was slightly shocked at seeing Peck again. After shutting down the storage facility and getting thrown out of the Mayor's office, Peck pretty much disappeared. "Pecker! Thought I smelled something brown and nossy, speaking of which you got a little brown something on your nose there. Been visiting the big guy over here have we?" Peter said while he gave peck a thumbs up.

Peck's facial expression showed more than words could ever say as he was extremely annoyed already though the Mayor ended any further childish comments. "Quiet both of you. I've brought Peck here to act as an overseeing committee, he'll be the one to keep the Ghostbusters in check and make sure you don't blow up the entire city. Paranormal Contracts Oversight Commision or PCOC, every contract you get will be overseen by Peck." The Mayor leaned forward a bit as he looked Peter straight in the eyes. "Should damages run up too high he'll have the authority to shut you down. You report to him on very job that you do, fail to do so and he will shut you down. Understood?"

"Yes. But he's not invited to the Christmas party, that's only for immediate staff and Pecker here is not one of them." Peter said as he pressed his hands down on the desk. "Gentlemen, I'm a busy man so I'm afraid I'll have to be going now. Ghosts to bust and papers to throw at PCOC here. Mr. Mayor, always a pleasure. PCOC, sadly I'll be seeing you later." Venkman stood up and shook the Mayor's hand and gave Peck a tap on the shoulder.

He watched as Venkman left the Mayor's office, and Peck turned and cleared his throat as he fixed his tie. "Mr. Mayor, I won't let you down. I'll watch their every move and if they break any rules I'll shut them down immediately." The Mayor nodded in agreement and Peck left the office as well after being handed a set of documents.

The Ecto-1a was parked outside of the Harrington mansion and it looked like a small castle, with a giant gate that blocked the entrance from any unwanted guests. Egon and Ray stood in front of an intercom with a camera above it. They weren't in their jumpsuits as they wore civilian clothes though Egon had a pke meter with him just in case. Ray pressed the button on the intercom and swallowed. "Hello? Ray Stantz here, I got your message about the book collection." No one responded and he tried again and repeated what he said the first time.

"No response. Guess no one's home, too bad though I was looking forward to take a look at that book collection."

"It's a big house, I imagine it'll take a few minutes if you're at the other end of the house while people ring the bell," Egon said as he cleaned his glasses and suddenly the gate opened and Ray almost jumped up out of joy. They entered the mansion grounds and headed up to the front door of this big house. There were Greek statues along the way and they caught Egon's eye as he gave them a quick scan with his pke meter. Naturally the readings were cold and he stored the meter back inside his coat.

"Gentlemen, welcome to my uncle's home," William Harrington greeted them as he opened the door and invited them in. He wanted to take their coats but only Ray handed over his coat as Egon wouldn't part with his.

"This is a beautiful place, I can imagine myself living in a place like this one day. Beats living in the firehouse, right Egon?" Ray admired the house as they followed William through a few doors.

"I prefer the firehouse," Egon replied as he wasn't too impressed by the mansion thus far. He kept an eye out for those Mayan artifacts that the papers said Edward found.

William led them to a room with a marble door while he shared a few words with Ray and Egon about his uncle's death and why they were giving the books to a museum, he pulled out a key and unlocked it and slowly opened the door. They were led into a room that was filled with stacks of old books and they weren't even put into book closets. Ray's face sparked with excitement as he couldn't wait to browse through all of them and he hadn't even questioned why they called him in the first place. Egon cleaned his glasses again and cleared his throat. "Are the Mayan artifacts stored in this mansion as well?" Egon asked as he crossed his arms.

"Well two of them are, the rest have been relocated to my uncle's private vault," William answered as he noticed a slight curiosity in Egon's voice.

"I'd like to see them if that's possible?"

"For the famous Dr. Egon Spengler, I think I can make an exception," William said as he smiled though his smile wasn't all that honest. Ray meanwhile had taken seat on the floor as he looked through the first stack of old books.

"Raymond, I'll be back shortly," Egon said as he followed William out of the room although he wasn't entirely convinced that William was telling the truth about those other artifacts who were supposedly stored in a vault somewhere else.


	4. Chapter 4

"These books are amazing!" Ray flipped the page of a book about witchcraft and ancient rituals and like a kid in a candy store he couldn't be more excited. Not a moment where he questioned the fact how Edward Harrington aquired books like these because they are powerful books when used right. The books he's seen just by cover have already made an impression on him and he's just begun reading through the first book.

"They shouldn't be kept in a place like this, they should be studied in a place that's equipped to handle the potential dangers that come with it," he said as he grabbed another book and flipped the first page.

Meanwhile Egon was being led through a long hallway with paintings on the walls that depicted Africa and wildlife. Though one painting caught Egon's attention as he walked by it, it's one that showed Edward Harrington himself with his wife. Egon walked on as he rarely lingers to stare at paintings and he continued to follow William. They arrived at a door that's very heavily locked with security that required a scan of fingerprints. William placed his hand on a small screen and his prints were scanned and moments later the door opened.

"That's impressive security for one single room," Egon said as he pushed his glasses a bit further up his nose.

"What the room contains requires impressive security to keep any unwanted guests from entering." William opened the door and allowed Egon to enter first, though the first thing he noticed is that the room is kept completely dark. The only light is the one that creeps in from the hallway through the opened door.

Egon noticed two glass display cases that stood against the left and right wall as he looked around calmly. His pke meter tucked away inside his coat but close enough should he need it. He stepped toward the glass case on the left and it contained a small Mayan statue that's used in ritualistic sacrifices. William stood near the doorpost as he watched and observed how Egon examined the first Mayan artifact. The statue is ancient and Egon wondered how Edward Harrington even discovered it.

"Amazing isn't it?" William asked, and Egon turned and nodded and reached for his pke meter.

"Would you mind if I took a quick scan? " Egon activated the meter but stopped himself from taking the first initial scan, that is until William gave his approval with a slight nodding.

Egon aimed the meter at the first and only glass case he examined and moved it up and down, though the scan showed nothing. He turned and walked toward the other glass case which contained a knife that Mayan's used for hunting, odd markings showed on the handle of the knife that Egon recognised but he couldn't quite place them. The pke meter moved up and down as Egon scanned the knife but there was nothing to be picked up, both artifacts void of any supernatural influence. As Egon turned to face William again, the meter suddenly picked up on a psychokinetic spike but it disappeared all too soon. Egon shrugged as he deactivated the meter though his gut told him to scan a little longer, but he was done.

"I'm done. Thank you for allowing me to see these artifacts," Egon said as he approached William after he stored the pke meter away inside his coat. William smiled though he had been a mysterious host from the start, he allowed two strangers access to his uncle's home and take a look at the books he collected and even two of his Mayan artifacts. Egon has questioned the reason why Ray was invited to come here several times over in his head, but he eventually put it aside because curiosity took the better of him.

"We'll collect your friend and hear his opinion on the books he read," William said as he and Egon left the room and the door locked itself after being closed.

They encountered Ray in the hallway as he greeted them. "The books were incredible, thank you for letting me see them. Though are you sure that you want to donate them to a museum? If you don't mind me saying, Mr. Harrington, but those books are potentially dangerous when in the wrong hands."

"I wouldn't worry about that, Dr. Stantz. They'll be in good hands. I just wanted them to be read by someone like you before they'd leave this place. You have a lot of experience with the supernatural, so I know you understand how valuable these books are," William said as he shook Ray's hand.

"Well thanks again for allowing us an insight on the collection of Edward Harrington. We'll get out of your hair now," Ray replied as he noticed Egon's gesture and he nodded Ray to hurry up.

"Dr. Stantz, before you leave I'd like to give you a parting gift. Something that my uncle enjoyed," William said as he pulled a small black leather book out of the inside pocket from his navy blue blazer. "This particular book was my uncle's favorite, he studied the ancient ways of African's tribal rituals. I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as he did."

Ray accepted the book with a grateful smile as he shook William's hand again and nodded. "I'm speechless, but I can't wait to read it. Thank you very much, and if you've ever got a problem with ectoplasmic entities, give us a call."

Ecto-1a roared as the engine heated up while Ray took another look at the book he was given. They both had an interesting experience while at the house, however Egon still had his doubts about William's honesty regarding the other artifacts and whether or not they really were stored in a private vault somewhere else.

"The artifacts he showed were not all that fascinating. A Mayan statue used in ritualistic sacrifices, though I know I've seen that statue before but don't know where. There was a hunting knife as well with markings on it that seemed to spell a name or word," Egon said as he crossed his arms though the spike he detected on the meter earlier is what puzzles him. However the reading was too brief and not worth mentioning even though it was a high spike.

"You should have taken a picture, I'd like to have seen that knife. Don't get me wrong I'm not excited by the blade but more so about the writing on it. Mayan's would often scribe the name of a god or being they worshipped on a tool so that it would be blessed," Ray said as he drove the Ecto-1a out on the highway with Egon turning his head to look at him.

"Yes, Raymond, I was aware of that."

Three of the four Ghostbusters eventually met up at headquarters as Egon and Ray found Peter using the EMD on the green blob in the research tank. Egon kept the research tank on the second floor where he has his lab, though the second floor also holds the sleeping quarters as well as a dining area. Peter turned around as he heard Egon clear his throat and he immediately stashed the EMD behind his back.

"This isn't what it looks like! The green thing wanted to escape, I had to use the EMD on him," Peter said as he nodded but still kept the EMD behind his back as if Egon and Ray hadn't seen him use it.

"The glass' particles are charged, it cannot escape. But maybe I should lock the EMD inside an electrical charged container, keeping you from using it whenever I'm not here," Egon replied as he shook his head and walked up to Peter and took back the EMD.

"Pete, why are you wearing a suit?" Ray asked as he grabbed a box of chocolate chip cornflakes that stood on the pool table and sat down on the long couch.

Peter himself strolled toward the couch while he unbuttoned his suit's jacket and removed his tie and threw both of them over a nearby chair. "I had a meeting with the Mayor remember? And just when you thought that meeting the big guy himself for the third time couldn't be more exciting, it got better. Peck showed up out of nowhere and apparently he's now our guardian angel. PCOC or Paranormal Contracts Oversight Commision, and Peck's the man for the job because it seemed that everyone else in New York was too busy," Peter said as he rolled his eyes and glanced over at Egon and Ray.

"He'll be keeping an eye on us now and we have to report to him on any job that we do. Oh and if we screw up too bad he'll shut us down because he's got the power. Doesn't that just make you want to strap on a pack and go crazy with a proton stream?" he continued.

"Interesting," Egon said as he cleaned his glasses and looked at Ray. "We can't have Peck shut us down again. If the storage facility is blown again we'll be finished, last time that happened we barely managed to catch every ghost that escaped. This time around we've got almost three times more the amount of ghosts in there than we did the first time we started."

"Imagine the explosion of that much psychokinetic energy all being released at once. It would be a destructive force that could level New York," Ray said as his eyes got bigger at the thought of such an explosion.

"Ray? Shut up, we get how bad it would be but I'd like to go to sleep tonight without nightmares about us blowing up New York. Imagine the bill they'd stick us with for blowing up the Big Apple," Peter said as he arched an eyebrow annoyed and sighed.

Ray stuffed his mouth with those chocolate chip cornflakes and they began to melt inside his mouth while Egon stood up and went on his way to store the EMD inside his lab. Peter watched as Ray chewed with an open mouth though not on purpose, and a sudden smack against the head caused Ray to spit out whatever was left inside his mouth.

"You jerk! Why'd you do that?" Ray asked as he rubbed the back of his head.

"You were chewing like a horse, I just did what any self-respecting woman would do if she was out with you. So where did you guys go?" Peter said as he winked at Ray and padded him on the back to ease the tension.

"I swear I'll stick you to a wall one day with the slime blower. Anyway Spengler and myself went to the mansion of Edward Harrington. I got an invitation from Edward's nephew to come take a look at the rare book collection his uncle had gathered over the years. It was really impressive and Egon got to take a look at some Mayan artifacts, I'd say it was a pretty good day," Ray replied as he grabbed a few chocolate cornflakes and began chewing again.

"Well, I'm gonna get rid of this monkey suit and pull on something that actually feels like clothing. Please continue chewing like no one's here," Peter said as he stood up and headed toward the sleeping quarters to change his clothes.


	5. Chapter 5

During breakfast the next morning the three of the four Ghostbusters were all seated at the dining table as they ate breakfast that was cooked up by Ray. He made some eggs and toast and they all ate quietly because Peter in particular wasn't a morning person at all. Winston got in late last night and eventually he strolled out of bed and wore the same shorts and shirt that he slept in as he made his way to the other guys.

"Someone got in late last night. You had a date didn't you? Ray, give the man some coffee he's got stories to tell," Peter said as he looked up at Winston as he took a bite out of his piece of toast with a strawberry jam spread.

"Too early for stories, I'll tell you about it later." Winston yawned and took a seat at the table.

Egon had a notebook with him that contained detailed writings on each collection of readings from the past few months. He studied these readings regularly in order to establish a pattern of hauntings and in what area of America they most occur. He took a sip from his glass of water instead of coffee unlike the others because he firmly considered coffee to dull the senses.

"The majority of hauntings from the past two months seem to be localized around-" Egon swallowed his words as they all heard a scream coming from the first floor. Janine screamed at the top of her lungs and they all jumped up and rushed toward the pole and slid down to see what was going on.

All still wearing the clothes they slept in, the Ghostbusters found Janine standing with a broom in her hand as she swung it around at a ghost who flew around back and forth from Peter's office. It was a squid-like apparition as the ghost had multiple tentacles and slimy purple skin. It had a large mouth with rows and rows of sharp teeth and tiny little horns running across its back. The strangest thing however was that it had a pair of eyes on its stomach that blinked every two minutes or so.

"Do something!" she shouted as she ducked down beneath her desk after throwing the broom away.

"So instead of us going out to find them, the ghosts now come to us. More importantly who's gonna pay us for catching a ghost in our home?" Peter asked as he watched the ghost fly around and it didn't really mind them at all as it just kept repeating the same flight pattern.

"Oh come on a little morning bust never hurt anyone!" Ray said as he, Egon and Winston grabbed their packs out of the back of the Ecto-1a.

"This one should be relatively easy to trap, it doesn't seem too bothered with us," Egon said as Winston helped him put on his proton pack.

Egon, Ray and Winston stood on opposite sides of each other as they tried to surround the ghost after activating their packs. Peter meanwhile had taken one of the traps out of the back of the car and held it in his hands as he stood aside and watched.

"Okay boys, on my mark. Ready, and, go!" Ray said as they aimed their throwers and they had to be extra careful because an accidental hit on the electrical circuits could shut down everything. They were hesitant to fire and no one shot not even after Ray gave the sign. The ghost continued to fly back and forth near the ceiling but too close near the walls where a lot of wires were running that led down directly into the basement.

"Okay this is already taking too long. Let me try somethin'," Peter said as he approached Janine's desk with the trap still in hand. The other Ghostbusters stared at him as they firmly held on to their throwers and he climbed up on Janine's desk. He dropped the pedal on the table and held his foot near it as he bended through his knees a little.

He narrowed his eyes and started to whistle a particular tune which to Egon's surprise actually attracted the ghost's attention. As the ghost stopped flying mid-air not too far away from Janine's desk, Peter stepped on the pedal and the trap opened as the ghost was caught and sucked inside. The trap's red light beeped and it began to smoke as Peter looked at the trap and proudly smirked. "Invade my office, bet you won't make that mistake again!"

"Impressive. You actually found a tune that appeals to the ectoplasmic cortex of a ghost. It seemed very interested in the sound you made. I'd like to study it further," Egon said as he deactivated his proton pack.

"Nothing fancy, Spengs, just my version of Queen's Don't Stop Me Now. I tried it out on that sack of slime in your little research bowl and he hated it, thought I'd give it a shot," Peter replied as he headed toward the basement door with the smoking trap that hung from the cable he had wrapped around his hand.

"It seemed very relaxed and almost not aware of us," Ray said after Peter went down to the basement.

"But why show up here anyway? I mean isn't it common knowledge amongst ghosts not to come near our place by now," Winston said as he and Egon helped each other to remove their packs.

"All I know is that you guys aren't paying me enough to handle hauntings at the office," Janine said as she sat down behind her desk and firmly crossed her arms.

The basement door opened as Peter came up and closed the door behind him. He walked toward the others and he shrugged his shoulders. "Who do we bill for this? Anyway the little creep is stored and I'm heading back up to finish my breakfast. See you guys later."

Egon didn't seem puzzled by what had just happened because chances are that every once in a while even the firehouse would get haunted. Especially since the firehouse had a larger psychokinetic pull than most of the buildings in New York, due to the fact that there's a massive storage of psychokinetic energy in the basement.

A few hours later in the afternoon, Egon and Ray tested and checked the equipment as they often would on the first Monday of the month. They've gone through the packs already and moved on to the traps. They tested the traps for storage capacity and containment charge, Egon stood with a trap in hand and had it connected to a laptop where he could check data and took notes as well.

"The containment field in the traps we've tested so far seem to be consistent with our check-up data from last month," Egon said as he turned to Ray.

"I agree, the equipment seems to be good so far. Though I've had an idea about upgrading the slime blowers. Actually it isn't so much an upgrade as it is a version of the proton grenade. Think about it, a slime grenade would be effective in the field," Ray replied as he held the giga meter in one hand and a screwdriver in the other.

"Interesting, could be worth trying out. The proton grenades seem to work perfectly. No reason why the slime grenades would have a lesser effect," Egon said as he unhooked the trap from the laptop and took a chocolate bar out of his white lab coat.

Meanwhile Peter and Winston smoked a cigarette on the rooftop as they hung back and talked about the date that Winston had last night. "Okay so spill it already, was she hot?" Peter asked as he took another drag.

"Of course, man. She was too fine and a damn good kisser," Winston answered and nodded as he thought back to last night.

"You military types get all the action," Peter said as he smiled and looked up at the sky for a moment as he enjoyed the fresh air.

A couple of hours later evening fell as all four Ghostbusters were seated at the dining table, they played a game of cards and everyone but Egon drank beer. Janine had left already and went home so they would now have to answer their own calls for the remainder of the night. At Egon's request no one smoked because he considered nicotine to be a useless drug that simplified the mind.

"Not counting that tentacle thing from this morning, we've had a quiet day so far. I still feel the need to bill someone though, think I'll send one to Peck and claim admission fee. He ain't joining our little team of nutjobs without paying for it!" Peter said after he took a strong gulp from the bottle of beer he held in his right hand.

"Still can't believe we have Peck watching our every move now," Winston said as he shuffled the cards and looked at his fellow Ghostbusters.

Egon cleaned his glasses and nodded. "Yes Peck's involvement with our business could potentially be bad."

"Such a smooth talker you are, Spengs. We gotta work on your communication skills or you won't get invited to birthday parties anymore," Venkman said as he slapped Egon on the shoulder and chuckled.

Ray pulled the black leather book he got from Edward's nephew out of his back pocket and opened it as he flipped through the pages quickly. "Still can't get over the fact how he just gave this book to me for free. Do you guys know for how much this would sell on the open market?" Ray said as he closed the book and held it in his hand as he grabbed his bottle of beer and drank from it.

They played for money and Ray had won most of it by now as they had just finished another game and he counted the money he had won thus far. Peter had his hands pressed against his cheeks as he leaned on the table with his elbows and expressed an annoyed look on his face, he hated losing to Ray at cards and all those beers he drank hadn't improved his mood. Winston came back from the kitchen and he held a plate in his hands that had an egg sandwich on it, he offered to make some for the others but they declined. Egon meanwhile had stacked whatever money he still had on the table and argued with himself whether or not he should stack them again.

"Egon, leave the money alone. You've stacked those few dollars so many times now I think they've actually melted together," Peter said as he rubbed his tired eyes.

"I think we should all retire for the night. We might still get a call and it would be a good idea to get a few hours of sleep," Egon said as he cleaned his glasses and slowly stood up.

"Egon's right, we should all get some sleep. Especially you, Pete. Those beer bottles behind you on the floor weren't emptied by me and Winston," Ray said as he looked at an exhausted Peter.

"Thanks Ray, I really needed that," Peter replied as he stood up and grunted the entire way from the dining table to the long couch where he dropped down and almost immediately fell asleep.


End file.
